Questions To Ask When Selecting a Mediator

Since there currently is no system of licensing or certifying mediators in the State of Colorado, the Colorado Council of Mediators and Mediation Organizations (CCMO) recommends that consumers ask enough questions to evaluate the qualifications of a mediator for your particular situation.

To select a mediator, it is important that you feel comfortable with the mediator or co-mediators, and that you believe the mediator has the capacity to be neutral and to understand the issues from each person's perspective.

CCMO suggests that you ask the following questions to help you select a mediator or co-mediators:

Response: A mediator is a neutral third party who listens carefully to the perspectives of all people involved in a dispute, and has the skills to:

• Understand each person's perspective while remaining impartial
• Help each person understand the needs of the other person even if they disagree with each other
• Coach each person to negotiate productively
• Enable the participants to reach a solution that is acceptable to each
• Write the agreed upon solutions into an agreement that the participants will honor and abide by

Connection Partners, Inc. founders, Tom and Arlene, each have developed the skills to understand multiple perspectives and resolve conflicts as described above through extensive experience and training as follows:

We specialize in mediation that incorporates the foundation of Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (for more information, see www.cnvc.org). The Nonviolent Communication approach to mediation allows participants to more clearly recognize and stay connected both to their own needs and the other participants' needs. This approach increases the probability that all participants will find mutually acceptable resolution to any disagreement.

As an independent manufacturer's representative, Tom spent 25 years identifying customer needs and mediating agreements between those customers and the manufacturer organizations. As an organizational consultant and a manager, Arlene has 10 years' experience resolving employment related conflicts, and 13 years' experience negotiating with clients.

Both Arlene and Tom have taught beginning mediation and coached mediation skills training for several training organizations.

Tom and Arlene have negotiated the bends and bumps of their relationship successfully for almost 30 years, and have been married since 1978.

Arlene and Tom both volunteer for the City of Boulder Community Mediation Service and the Boulder County Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program. As part of those programs, they participate in monthly mediation training on a wide range of topics including: landlord tenant, noise, neighborhood, hate crimes, parent-teen, anger management, agreement writing, decision making, restorative justice, and multicultural issues.

In addition, depending on the issues to be resolved, some people choose to have their attorney present for some or all of the mediation. The attorney's role in the process is to advice you if needed regarding legal matters and to review any agreements before you sign then.

Each mediation participant receives a copy of the memorandum to review and/or have an attorney review, prior to signing the document. If revisions are requested, changes are mediated until the agreements listed are acceptable to all participants.

After all participants sign the memorandum of agreements, each receives a signed copy. The memorandum of agreements may be filed with the court.